With 10 days left for polls, opposing fronts sharpen their attacks

With Lok Sabha elections approaching, political attacks in Kerala intensify as Modi targets CPI(M) leadership in corruption scandals.

With just 10 days left for Lok Sabha polling day on April 26, opposing fronts in Kerala have drastically sharpened their attacks on each other.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the ball rolling on Monday by using the bully pulpit of his high office to observe, without naming any person or dwelling on details, that the “Chief Minister and his daughter” were subjects of a Central investigation.

He also tied the CPI(M) leadership in Thrissur to the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank scam and promised “wrongdoers” legal retribution and “panicked depositors” the return of their “looted” savings.

Political point scoring, often bordering on the personal appeared to set the tone and tenor of campaigning as it meandered to a close on April 24.

The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) fast-unfolding probe into the transactions between a Kochi-based mining firm and an IT consultancy owned by Mr Vijayan’s daughter and the comings and goings of CPI(M) leaders outside the agency’s office in Kochi imbued an ominous character to the campaign phase, given Mr. Modi’s harsh spotlighting of the cases during his rallies in the State.

The Lok Sabha election campaign appeared to take on an aggressive and bruising character.

For one, K.K. Shailaja, CPI(M) candidate from Vadakkara, accused her rival and Congress leader Shafi Parambil, of prosecuting a slanderous campaign against her on social media. She also petitioned the police and the District Electoral Officer.